As Meta tries to get ahead of the AI race and boost engagement with bot AI, the company was announced Monday that is launching new AI features on Facebook that aim to change the way users find information, create content and interact with the platform.
The headline update is “AI Mode,” a new way to search Facebook that uses Meta AI to surface answers that come from public posts across the platform, including Groups and Roles. Instead of scrolling through search results, users can ask a question in plain language and get a synthesized answer based on what people are actually talking about.
This follows Meta’s quiet launch last month of Forum, a Reddit-style app that includes its own AI “Ask” tab, allowing users to ask questions and get answers from discussions happening across Facebook Groups.
Both AI Mode and the forum’s Ask tab raise a familiar question: How reliable are the answers generated from public posts and group discussions? Because AI summarizes content from everyday users rather than vetted sources, there is a real risk of out-of-date or misleading information leaking out, a concern that has already been raised about Google’s AI feature on Reddit.
Beyond search, Facebook has also added editing tools that let users play with collage cutouts and transition effects for their video montages. Another new feature is AI photo presets, which allow users to change their look with different clothes, hairstyles and accessories.
Sports fans, for example, can virtually wear their favorite team’s jerseys by simply tapping the “AI Edit” icon in Stories and selecting “Wear It,” or go directly to their profile picture and select “Restyle picture profile with AI” and “Wardrobe.”
These updates add to a growing list of AI features that Meta has been rolling out to Facebook in recent months. In February, the company introduced animated profile pictures that bring still photos to life — by adding a wave or placing a virtual party hat on someone’s head. In March, Meta added an AI feature to Facebook Marketplace that automatically responds to buyers’ messages on behalf of sellers.
More recently, earlier this month, Facebook launched an AI assistant for creators that offers personalized recommendations — including the best times to post and summaries of what audiences are saying in comments — based on a creator’s content and performance history.
Overall, the flurry of releases points to a broader strategy: Meta wants Facebook’s AI tools to make the platform stickier and more useful, while diversifying how it makes money. Alongside these rollout features, the company recently launched global subscription plans for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – starting at $3.99 per month – that unlock additional features, with more AI-related subscription tiers reportedly on the way.
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